Travel Agent - September 1, 2008 - (Page 88)

NEWS IMPACT Australia the Movie Pumps Up Australia the Destination THAT HUGE BUZZ YOU’RE HEARING is from the upcoming Twentieth Century Fox film Australia, helmed by visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann. The sweepingly romantic period film, set in Australia’s Northern Territories and due to open in November, was the centerpiece of this year’s Corroboree 2008, which just finished four days of education and networking at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza in Thousand Oaks, CA. Corroboree is a retail-training event that assembles Aussie SpeAccording to Michelle Gysberts, vice president of Tourism Australia Americas, Australia is the number-one desired destination—but though it’s a dream destination, there’s a lack of immediacy in following through with a trip. “This movie has the potential to bring Australia to top of mind,” says Gysberts. The key marketing message is, “Lose yourself in the movie; find yourself in Australia.” Even though the film is set in the Northern Territories, Tourism charismatic Luhrmann has agreed to conceive and produce a special international filmed campaign for Tourism Australia; he claims it will be unlike anything ever seen before. “The partnership with Twentieth Century Fox creates a whole new playing field,” says Gysberts. “We have a mutual goal—they want to put ‘bums’ in the seats and we want to put ‘bums’ in the seats on the plane to Australia.” MARK ROGERS What Lies Ahead During Corroboree 2008, I had a chance to sit down with Gysberts. “The retail travel network is incredibly important to us,” she says. “The conversion rate of leads we send them is 15 to 20 percent higher than wholesalers’.” According to Tourism Australia, travel agents handle more than 55 percent of travel from the Americas to Australia. To be eligible for leads, agents must be an Aussie Specialist Premier agent. The process begins with becoming a Tier 1 agent. “The best way to get on board the marketing push designed around the movie is to become an Aussie Specialist,” says Gysberts. “Aussie Specialists will have access to a special movie training module.” Interested agents can visit www. tourism.australia.com and take an online course to become an Aussie Specialist. The course is free of charge and the length of time to finish the various modules is wholly dependent on the agent—and it’s conceivable to finish the course in one day. Becoming an Aussie Specialist also puts agents in line for fams, which tripled in 2007. This past year, Tourism Aus- Michelle Gysberts, vice president of Tourism Australia Americas, and Rita Drucker, senior vice president of feature film promotions for Twentieth Century Fox, flanked by images from the upcoming Baz Luhrmann film, Australia cialist Travel Agents from the U.S., Canada and Latin America to meet industry partners, Australian suppliers, wholesalers, airline execs and representatives from Australia’s State and Territory Tourism Offices. This year, 164 certified Aussie Specialist travel agents and 69 sellers of Australian tourism products attended the event. CONNECTING YOU For more on Australia, visit www.travel agentcentral.com/australia-newzealand Australia is intent on marketing the country as a whole, so the benefits will be spread across the continent. “The film’s central themes of romance, adventure, transformation, Aboriginal magic and the love of the land can be applied to many Australian experiences,” says Gysberts. Agents can expect to see tour operators designing itineraries that retrace the steps of the characters played by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in the film. The tralia created three Aussie Week seven-day city-break packages for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The packages addressed the misconception that Australia is too far away for a short visit. In fact, flying to Australia from the West Coast takes about 14 hours, the same as flying from the West Coast to Europe. Gysberts notes that they’ll continue the successful campaign into 2009. “Last year was about changing perception,” she says. “It’s all about market growth, not market share.” According to Gysberts, the economic downturn hasn’t affected visitor arrivals from the U.S. “I was speaking with an American wholesaler yesterday and he told me that the fuel surcharges to Hawaii are more than the fuel surcharges to Australia,” she notes. Australia’s Opal Awards On the final night of Corroboree 2008, agents and suppliers assembled at the Reagan Library for this year’s Opal Awards, which are given to Aussie Specialists who have excelled in marketing and selling Australian vacations to their clients. A select panel of industry representatives votes the awards. —MARK ROGERS 88 | TravelAgent September 1, 2008 http://www.tourism.australia.com http://www.tourism.australia.com http://www.travelagentcentral.com/australia-newzealand http://www.travelagentcentral.com/australia-newzealand

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Travel Agent - September 1, 2008

Travel Agent - September 1, 2008 Online Now Contents Contributors From the Editor From the Publisher Europe: Apartment Rentals Offer a Different View of Paris Pacific/Asia: Authentic Sarawak Culture and Longhouse Experiences are Highlights of a Visit to Malaysian Borneo South Pacific: Fiji’s Denarau Island Offers Paradise within a Paradise Las Vegas: As Business Slows, Discounts and Deals are in the Cards at Many Vegas Properties Central & South America: São Paolo, Brazil, is Ideal for Business or Leisure Vacations Caribbean: The Caves in Negril, Jamaica, Offers Quiet Luxury Rosecita Jeffers Takes Over the St. Kitts Tourism Authority Cruises: Crystal Cruises is Making Plans and Changes for the Future Keeping Cruises Affordable with These 12 Tips for Clients Cover Story: Top Supplier Sales Reps Hotels: At Chicago’s Stylish Avenue Hotel, the Kids are all Right Bali is Reinventing Itself as a Family-Friendly Destination Tours: GOGO Worldwide Vacations Renews its Commitment to the Travel Agent Community Agent Profile: Ramesh Kalicharran Looked for His Roots and Helps Others Find Theirs Agenda: Fam Trips, Deals & Incentives, Calendar Luxury Travel Expo The YTB Controversy Rages On The Latest News From the Caribbean Australia Promotes Australia New Flagship to Relaunch Orient Lines Classified Marketplace Agent Access In the Spotlight Editorial Index Advertising Index Trendwatch

Travel Agent - September 1, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.